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Judd Legum Profile picture
@JuddLegum
Nov 29, 2023 • 11 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
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1. Earlier this month, a mysterious woman appeared before a school board in Texas and claimed that, when she was 11, she READ A SCHOLASTIC BOOK THAT SPARKED A DEBILITATING PORN ADDICTION.

We investigated.

And it's ABSOLUTELY WILD what is happening.

🧵 Image
2. The woman was 20-year-old Lanah Burkhardt.

Burkhardt said after reading a Scholastic book that depicted a "single kiss," she "looked for other books that gave me pleasure." This "led to internet searches" that she will "never forget."

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
3. Burkhardt cited her story as a reason to restrict access to Drama, a novel published by Scholastic. The book includes this image of two people kissing: Image
4. But Burkhardt went further, arguing that Conroe should remove all Scholastic books from schools and stop hosting Scholastic book fairs.

According to Burkhardt, "getting rid of Scholastic books and their book fairs will inevitably protect kids."

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
4. Burkhardt's appearance was promoted by SkyTree Book Fairs, a newly formed organization marketing itself as "an alternative to the sexually explicit content distributed in Scholastic's book fairs." Image
5. SkyTree Book Fairs presents itself as an independent non-profit. But it appears to be a hastily assembled offshoot of Brave Books, which publishes children's books by right-wing pundits

The president of SkyTree Book Fairs was recently an "Executive Assistant" at Brave Books Image
6. Burkhardt's appearance at the Conroe school board was also promoted by Brave Books. The company called it a "must watch" and a "powerful message that needs to be heard."

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
7. Neither Brave Books nor Burkhardt disclosed that Burkhardt is an employee of Brave Books. According to her LinkedIn profile, Burkhardt is the company's "public relations coordinator." Image
8. The Conroe school board, after listening to Burkhardt's story, voted to restrict access to Drama from all students in the 8th grade and below. One of the school board members, Melissa Dungan, suggested replacing Scholastic with SkyTree Book Fairs. Image
9. More on Brave Books/SkyTree and their scheme to replace Scholastic with kids' books written by right-wing Pizzagate conspiracy theorists in today's newsletter

popular.info/p/mysterious-w…
10. For UPDATES and more accountability journalism, subscribe to Popular Information.

It's free to sign up.

popular.info/subscribe

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 11
1. Internal documents reveal that Freedom 250, which purports to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary, is a vehicle to promote Trump and "America First" propaganda, including election conspiracies

Major corporations like Mastercard and Deloitte and spending million to bankroll this effort
2. Freedom 250 says it'll use corporate money to organize events celebrating the nation’s birthday. But an internal “Events Toolkit” reveals the events will promote pro-Trump political talking points

popular.info/p/major-corpor…
3. For example, a “Talking Points & Messaging Guide” suggests partner organizations feature “issue-based messaging.” One featured message: “President Trump and America First leaders are restoring election integrity and protecting the voice of every legal citizen.” Image
Read 7 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Feb 9
1. Trump has launched a torrent of bigoted invective against Somali migrants, calling them "garbage" and demanding they be kicked out of the country

Now, the Trump administration is rigging the immigration courts against them

We've uncovered the details of the scheme
2. Lawyer Matthew Hoppock reported that his 8 Somali clients have all had their cases reassigned to the same immigration judge.

Other lawyers representing Somali clients have had their cases reassigned to the same judge.

popular.info/p/how-trump-is…
3. Popular Information has learned that judge is Sherron Ashworth, a former ICE prosecutor with a track record of quickly rejecting asylum claims and accepting the Trump administration’s most specious legal arguments

Ashworth is based in Lousiana but will hear these cases in Kansas City via video

popular.info/p/how-trump-is…
Read 8 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Jan 28
1. Many large media outlets are reporting that Trump "pivoted" his strategy in Minnesota and has "changed course."

This is what the White House WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE

The only problem is it is not true
2. Is Trump ending his immigration crackdown in Minneapolis? No

Is anyone responsible for the operation being held accountable. No

Has Trump acknowledged that these killings were unjustified? Also no

popular.info/p/how-legacy-m…
3. The only thing that is changed is that Trump has replaced Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander overseeing the Minneapolis operation, with Tom Homan, his border czar.

The idea that Homan is a force for moderation is a joke.
Read 5 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Jan 26
1. The Trump administration is not conducting its deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis alone

Major corporations, including @amazon, @CitizensBank, and @ATT, are enabling — and profiting from — the operation.
@amazon @CitizensBank @ATT 2. @Amazon powers much of the technological infrastructure that the Trump administration uses to target immigrants.

Amazon hosts the ICM database used by ICE which "integrates a vast ecosystem of public and private data to track down immigrants"

popular.info/p/the-corporat…
3. Hours after Alex Pretti was fatally shot at point-blank ranger, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy attended a screening of "Melania," a documentary about the First Lady, at the White House.

Amazon is paid Melania $40 million for rights to the vanity project and is spending another $35 million to promote itImage
Read 8 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Jan 22
1. After months of denials, the Trump administration has admitted that DOGE staff misused Social Security data.

A DOGE staffer signed a deal to share the data with a “political advocacy group” seeking to “overturn election results"

The identity of the staffer is not disclosed but there are clues
2. Antonio Gracias, a DOGE staffer who was embedded at the SSA, publicly spoke about using Social Security data to “expose” voter fraud. During a March 30 rally alongside Elon Musk, Gracias — a fellow billionaire — made a variety of false and misleading claims.

popular.info/p/doge-staffer…
3. Gracias said that he had compared SSA data with voting records and found that non-citizens were registered to vote and did vote. He claimed he referred these people for prosecution. (There are no known charges or convictions resulting from those alleged referrals.)
Read 8 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
Jan 21
1. In 2025, 32 people died in ICE custody.

That figure was the largest in more than two decades and tied for the highest number of deaths among ICE’s detainee population ever.

2026 is only three weeks old, and it’s already shaping up to be much worse.
2. In just 21 days, at least six people have died in ICE custody.

Last year, ICE did not have six in-custody deaths until April 25. The early trends put ICE on pace for 120 in-custody deaths in 2026.

popular.info/p/in-2026-ice-…
3. Several of the deaths, according to advocates, are related to substandard medical care. Popular Information reported on Monday that ICE stopped paying for third-party medical treatment for detainees on October 3, 2025.

popular.info/p/ice-has-stop…
Read 4 tweets

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